Jeep's new Wrangler Rubicon is a tough and immeasurably capable SUV that lives up to its predecessors

RUBICON TRAIL, Calif. — Danger is everywhere. It’s here in the rocks, the trees and cliffs. The danger is just not in flipping this open-top 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, tossing us down an incline that could kill us, but also in the high probability of severing a vital artery of this Jeep on some sharp granite outcrop.

Suddenly, the ominous smell of heavy gear oil taints the early morning air of the California forest in which we are gingerly picking our way through. But the smell, and the tell-tale line of oil in the sand, is not from our Jeep but some other victim of a cracked transfer case or sheared differential cover, from a vehicle that tried to navigate one of the world’s most challenging off road routes — the Rubicon Trail.

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

Keep those limbs in!

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

In many cases, the average speed for a trail is 5 km/h.

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

The trail, a 35-kilometre scar in the earth just west of Lake Tahoe, California, is deceptive in its name: Some sections are no trail at all, just lonely and narrow gaps of boulders that no vehicle has any right to pass. Heck, goats and horses would refuse to walk among these ruins of rock. Avid hikers would have a hard time. In some sections, the Rubicon is like trying to transverse Mars — unpredictable, unreliable, unknown. Yet it’s here, in this landscape of bone-dry and stunningly beautiful wilderness, that we are attempting to trek two tons of automobile.

Established, more or less, in the early 1950s, the Rubicon Trail earned its status when a group of friends believed their Jeeps might be able to cross the tortuous path of granite that forms part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Lake Tahoe. The trail is not maintained and changes from day to day, season to season. At one point, the trail crosses a river close to Lake Tahoe that was named Rubicon by early settlers and came to mean the point of no return.

Indeed, many who attempt the Rubicon fail, their vehicles simply unable to withstand the constant abuse and punishment the trail inflicts on tires, shocks, frames, body panels, fuel tanks, steering components, suspension bits, brake lines — just about everything a vehicle needs to keep moving. It’s a 10 on the scale of most challenging courses, a double black diamond. It’s not for the weak — for driver or vehicle. Yet those who first made it so long ago proved that with the right vehicle and equipment, coupled with an abundance of caution, patience and perseverance, the trail could be conquered. For Jeep, naming a model after the Rubicon was a natural choice.

Today, the most off-road version of Jeep Wrangler is presently banging and scraping away on the new Rubicon’s factory rock rails, steel frame, protector plates, bumpers, body cladding and differential — a little like those first trail blazers. Except unlike those hippies, we have air conditioning for the hot afternoon sun, a heated steering wheel and heated seats for the cool mornings of the two-day trip, satellite radio, LED headlamps, an electronically disconnecting front sway bar, differentials in the front and rear that lock with the push of button, burly 33-inch BF Goodrich KO2 all-terrain tires, and automatic transmissions. All that makes it sound like conquering the Rubicon in a $50,000 Rubicon would be a breeze. Not quite.

The Jeep Wrangler, receiving its first major overhaul since 2007, has always been a capable off-roader — even if, for many owners, the most off-roading they’ll do is a dusty sidewalk or median when making a U-turn or shortcut. But for those whose path routinely takes them into the deep woods, the Rubicon has answered the call of duty, making for a highly capable, factory production 4×4 that needs nothing in the way of modifications to master the mountains. With a stout frame and solid axles front and rear, the ride is both charming and charismatic, a signature trait of every Jeep Wrangler.

Even its look, highlighted by the seven-gap grille, round headlamps and open top, has stayed consistent with the originals. Purists who don’t mind dust or bugs can still fold-down the front windshield and remove the doors. On the new version, however, a wider stance, lower beltline and larger windows improve visibility. The front glass is more raked. In terms of design and evolution, it’s the off-road equivalent to the Porsche 911, loved by legions on both ends of the spectrum — those who don’t care what their Rubicon can do off-road, just so long as it can do it when such a situation presents itself, and those who demand their Jeep do as advertised.

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Derek McNaughton, Driving

And, boy, can it do. A Rock-Trac 4×4 transfer case with a 4LO ratio of 4:1, paired with locking front and rear Dana 44 differentials, underpin the new Rubicon body that can step into inclines as steep as 44 degrees. It can go over, without scraping, angles of 27.8 degrees and leave them at 37 degrees, in part due to a ground clearance of 10.9 inches and standard 33-inch tires on 17-inch wheels. Countless times on the Trail, mostly when uttering “there’s no way we’re going to get through this,” the Rubicon kept moving forward, upward and over all obstacles in its way. “I can’t believe we just did that,” became a familiar response.

Should a pond be in the way, the Rubicon can ford up to 30 inches without leaking water into the cabin. It can tow 3,500 pounds, too. In the Rubicon, engaging the part-time 4H or 4L is still by a manual lever that can be a bit stiff going into 4L. In the Sahara, a two-speed transfer case — with full-time four-wheel drive — is available. The Sahara’s Selec-Trac is for those who prefer to set it and forget it.

Should departure and approach angles be steeper or more dangerous, as they so often are on the Rubicon Trail, Jeep’s disconnecting front sway bar and long-travel, multi-link suspension allow for more wheel travel, so the tires can find purchase when the vehicle is pushed into awkward situations that would be stop the majority of stock SUVs. Underbody skid-plate protection is standard, and the plastic wheel-well edges do an excellent job of limiting damage to a few superficial battle scars. The doors, hood, fenders and windshield frame are aluminum, the rear swing gate are magnesium. Front and rear heavy-duty steel bumpers with removable end caps, and a winch-ready mount on the front, are available.

Two new engines join the familiar 3.6-litre Pentastar V6, which was upgraded to 285 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. A new, turbocharged 2.0-litre, direct-injection inline four, paired to an eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic, gets 270 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. Yes, that’s more torque than the V6 and it feels perfectly suited to the Rubicon, with a sound almost like that of a muted diesel. Speaking of which, a 3.0-litre EcoDiesel V6 — with 260 horsepower and 442 lb.-ft. of torque, mated to the automatic — is coming in 2019. The V6 can be mated to a six-speed manual or the automatic, but the 2.0L turbo-four can only be matched to the automatic, which feels abundantly happy in its new home. The 2.0 also gets FCA’s eTorque system, first seen on the 2019 Ram. The system handles power for auto stop/start and several other key electric-power assists.

Inside, the interior has been sharply refined with better materials and fit. FCA’s fourth-generation Uconnect infotainment system has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the choice of five-, seven- or 8.4-inch touchscreens with pinch-and-zoom capability. It’s still one of the better infotainment systems in the business. Starting at $34,945 for the base Sport and ranging up to $49,745 for the Unlimited Rubicon, the Wrangler can, of course, be had in two- or four-doors, with dozens of different door, colour, windshield and top combinations — including a new one-touch powertop. Several new safety features have also been added.

Ever since the first civilian Jeep, the CJ-2A, was produced in 1945, Jeep has been synonymous with off-road capability and open top freedom. The new Rubicon, which first appeared as its own model in 2003, has taken all that was good about the previous models and made the 2018 immeasurably better — some of the improvements based on experiences learned from the off-road torture of the Rubicon Trail. Such ability not only demands respect, it deserves it.